Lessons Learned

If there is one thing I have discovered post-grad it is that just because you're not at school anymore does not mean you stop learning. In fact, I'm convinced the learning begins in earnest after graduation. As I was reflecting on the three weeks I've spent at Montclar, I realized that I have already learned more from the kids than I will ever be able to teach them.
Before telling what I've learned from each age group, I'll explain how the classes are separated. 
P0-P5 is preschool--P0 is for babies who are not yet 1 year old, babies in P1 are 1 year old, toddlers in P2 are 2 years old, and so on. Primary school is exactly what we would think of as 1st-6th grade. ESO stands for Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria (in English Obligatory Secondary School). The students in 1st-4th of ESO are the same age as students in 7th-10th grade in the States. However, the curriculum of ESO is much more similar to high school than to middle school. Students in batxillerat (don't try pronouncing it...Catalan is silly) are the same age as juniors and seniors in high school and directly translated, batxillerat is high school. The big difference between batxillerat and high school is that batxillerat is optional. After finishing ESO, students choose to go to work or to go to batxillerat. Those who choose batxillerat have plans of attending university. Hopefully that short explanation was helpful and not just confusing because I'm still having a hard time getting it all straight. 


P3
  1. True happiness is running laps around the playground by yourself for an hour, laughing at something no one else understands, and eating as many cookies as you can sneak in your pockets.
  2. How many times in a row can you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It" before 3-year-olds get tired of it? The limit does not exist.
  3. Nap time > Every other time of the day

P4
  1. "Besitos" (little kisses) make everything better.
  2. A bouquet of hand-delivered yellow leaves is enough to make one's heart melt.
  3. Spinning around a pole is fun no matter how old you are. 
Top: 22 year olds 
Bottom: 4 year olds

P5
  1. If you bribe a kid with an iPhone they'll quiet down....for about 3 minutes. 
  2. Finding the balance between wanting your kids to like you and wanting your kids to respect you is really, really hard. 
  3. Nap time should not end when we're 3 years old...we still get grumpy after lunch. 

1st of Primary
  1. When your husband and kids leave you, all you need is some chocolate and someone to braid your hair in order to feel better. (No, I am not married. No, I do not have children. Yes, the 6-year-olds of Montclar would tell you I'm lying.)
  2. How hard you fall down at recess can make or break your day.
  3. You're never too old to learn how to pray. *See picture below*

*Sees me in chapel*
"You don't know how to pray." (In very worried tone)
*disappears for 2 minutes*
*sets these down in front of me*
"Use these to pray."
-1st grader-


2nd of Primary
  1. If one of your kids is sick, you are also sick....just wait.
  2. When teaching vocabulary about family be prepared to hear every detail about every family member of every student.
  3. There is no such thing as too much detail when giving instructions.
This is even more important when there is a language barrier.

3rd of Primary
  1. SpongeBob SquarePants (Bob Esponja) is funny in every language. 
  2. Needing to go to the bathroom is contagious. 
  3. Science is hard but diagrams help.

4th of Primary
  1. Mom's do a lot more than we give them credit for. We should thank them more often.
  2. "Eres guapa" (You're pretty) makes me blush every time...even when I know they're only saying it to suck up to me.
  3.  It is not in a 9 year old's nature to work silently.

5th of Primary
  1. All 10 year olds know exactly what they want to do with their lives. 
  2. If you ever want to see complete chaos, tell a group of 5th graders that you've never seen Frozen.
  3.  I'm not as old as Mom and Dad but I'm still pretty old. 

6th of Primary
  1. 6th graders don't play at recess, they're too old for that. 
  2. Admitting that you're afraid of grasshoppers may be all it takes to get kids to open up. 
  3. Learning "bad words" in a different language is the best way to spend English class. 

1st of ESO 
  1. If you bribe a kid with an iPhone they'll quiet down....for about 3 minutes. 
  2. Finding the balance between wanting your kids to like you and wanting your kids to respect you is really, really hard. 
  3. Nap time should not end when we're 3 years old...we still get grumpy after lunch. 

iPhone bribery

2nd of ESO
  1. The best subject at school is P.E. Art comes in as a close second. 
  2. Nobody learns the same way and creating a lesson plan for each individual student every day would be impossible. You get good at improvising.
  3. It's hard to remember 300 names but making an effort is usually good enough.

3rd of ESO
  1. "Americans are so united. Everybody loves America. 'Merica!' At least no state dislikes the country so much they fight for independence. Except for maybe Texas, but Texas is weird." **This was in reference to some Spaniards wanting Catalonia to be independent from the rest of Spain.**
  2. The United States of America is the best country in the world. Why, you ask? Two words: Zac Efron. 
  3. Sometimes the best compliments aren't given in words but in smiles. 




4th of ESO
  1. Justin Bieber is the worst. 
  2. You can't write a lesson plan for helping someone through a break up. 
  3. P.E. is now the worst subject at school. 

1st of Batxillerat
  1. Talking about school is boring....talking about boys isn't.
  2. If you don't laugh at least once a day you need to reconsider how you're spending your time.
  3. All 16 year olds want is someone to listen to them and to take them seriously. 

2nd of Batxillerat
  1. In 5th grade she knew what she wanted to do with her life but now it all seems more complicated. 
  2. English grammar makes no sense. 
  3. The real world is a little bit scary but not scary enough to hold you back from following your dreams. 


If you thought you were experiencing deja vu while reading what I learned from 1st of ESO, you're not going crazy. I've learned the same things from the kids in P5 as I have from the kids in 1st of ESO. I guess 5 year olds and 12 year olds aren't as different as one might think. Both talk when they're not supposed but won't talk when asked to. But both ages are also pretty good at sneaking into hearts. If this is how much I've learned in 3 weeks I can't imagine what's in store for the next 8 months! 


















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